Improvement in electric organ-action



. @l aff-@ff .I lt I c llmtmmtea giorni-tl HILBORNE L. ROOSEVELT, OF NEW YORK, NfY.

Letters Patent No. 88,909, dated Apr/il 13, v1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELECTRIC ORG-'A-ACTION.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the sam To all whomii may concern:

Bc it known that l, HILBORNE L. ROOSEVELT, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved- Electric Organ-Action; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of. this specification.

The object of this invention is to apply electricity from a battery, o1' other` source to the operation of.

organs, so 'thatthe' keys can be played at a suitable distance' from the organ, and without any diiculty.

The invention consists, first, in providing a separate battery for each octave of the organ. It is necessary in every magnetic action applied to organs to' havesufiicient battery-power to actuate at least ten magnets, (sometimes morc,) at one and'the same time, and it mustalso be remembered that the lower notes require much more power than the upper ones. Now, the battery-power necessary to enable the organist to play chords, 1nust,.if thrown upon single notes, (as it would be when running passages are playedg) destroy-thccon` 'i nections by burning, in spite of the best-contrived oir- .cuit-breakcis, and must also waste the battery. To

avoid this rliiliculty, I divide the notes in octavos with a separate battery for each separate oc ve. Take for examplethe octave from middle (J to O above, on which the organist never holds more than ve notes at one and the same time, and I apply a separate battery, say of six Smee, o r other cups, with appropriate con# nections, which is eioughto do all the necessary work, and actuate all the'required magnets on that octave, without burning or waste of the battery; and so on for each separate octave, according to its separate requirements.

' The invention-consists, second, in the use of gly cerine, which is placed upon the mercury to prevent its evaporation, and which protects the point of the key-wire from oxidation, while the same islited out oi' the mercury.

The invention further consists, in providing a connection between the pedal and key-wires, so that by means 3i' the pedal, the pallets of Akey and pedal can be operated at once. This connection is a sliding wedge,

or equivalent mechanism, by means of which the mer-- cnry-cnps of kcy and pedal are united by a wire dipped into hoth, to cause a current from the key-battery to he opened and closed by the action of the pedal. .'lhc invention further consists, in thc combination of the armature with the swinging pallet, as will be hereinafter morc'nlly described.

'Phe inventionalso consists, in the application of' a sliding pallet drawn longitudinally by the armature,

whereby loss friction is produced than by the ordinary swinging pallet.

lhoinvention finally consists. in providing a sepaf.

rate battery, or at least a separate 1set of wires, and a separate mercury-trough for each octave of the organ or other suitable subdivision of the same, for the purpose of cconomizing the power ofthe battery, which would be uselessly wasted were it to be used in full `forcefor each key, and for better preserving the coni nections.

In the accompanying drawings- A Figure 1 represents a Sectional side view of the wire connections and mereury-troughs, as arranged on a key and pedal of an organ, the said key and pedal being separated.

Figure 2 is a similar view, showing the ke'y and pedal` in electric connection.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A .in 'the drawing, represents one key of a piano-- forte action. v A

Above the keys, oli-in any suitable other position, is varranged a fixed transverse trough, or vessel, B, which is made of separate pieces, or divided into sestions, so that one piece, or section will suce for each octave, or other subdi'n'sio'nof the bank of keys.

This trough -is partly lled withxnercui'y,` glyoerne being placed above the mercury. into the trough, to cover the liquid metal, and to prevent it from evaporating.

C is a pallet, or valve of the'organ. It is hinged at a as usual, and has a projecting arm, b, to which the armature D of apair of intensity coils, E E, is

secured.. v

When the o oils are charged, they attractthe 'armature, and cause the pallet to swing open, the power of the charge overcoming the action of a spring, G.

If the armature would be fastened directly to the body ofthe pallet-it would in its straight motion tend to strain and injure the hinge of the same, which is avoided by the use of the arm b.

so that a current may pass from the battery through the coils E, to charge them, and to cause the opening of the pallet. K

When the key is released, it is at once raised by thc vspring d, to throw the wire H ont of the mercury.

The circuit is then broken, and the pallet closed by the spring c:

J ,is one of the pedals.

Above the pedals is arranged a stationary mercurytrough, K, which is filled with mercury and glyoerinc,

likel the trough l, and in to each sect-ion ot' which the g end of a wire, L, from a battery, M, isdipped.

a pallet, Q, while the helices are also directly connected ,with the battery M by means of a wire, R.

The pedal is thrown np by a spring, Then its v inner end is depressed, the end of' its wireN is' dipped into the mercury, and a current is established to open the pallet Q, the operation heini,r just like that described in connection with the key.

'.lhe glycol-ine on the mereuryproteets and surrounds the ends .of the wires H and N, while the suine are raised outoi' the mercury .to prevent theh injury.

Glycerineheing a non-conductor ot' electricity, has the property when poured ortthe mercury of diminish- 'ing the burning by the sparks, und also of checking the evaporation of the mercury.. y

A wire, S, n'iay be arranged to connect the ,two troughs B and 'K, so that one of its ends may constantly be dipped in one ofthe mercury layers. A

The other end may be forced into the respective' other trough, by means of a wcdgeshaped slide, J, which is shown in both figures. Y

vln iig. l, it -is represeiited as pushed in to not affect -thel lower end of thewirc S, which is raised out of the mercury of the trough li.

In tig. 2, it is represented as dmWn'put to force the lower end of the wire into the mercury'of K.

A wire, U, is attached to the pedal J, and connects the same with tl 1e key-coils E. It is with its end raised in the drawin". But when the pedal is depressed, its end is dipped in the mercury. A

'.lhen a connection is established through the 'wires out-ot' the mercury in K, wlien'the pedal is raised, as,

I, S, and U, with the coils E, to cause the opening oi the pallet O. lhus, when the key is ilaised, a-current may at once be established through both sets of soils, by working the pedal alone, in ord'or to open at, once the pedal and key-pallets. 0r at least any desired nux1i ber oi' the latter.

The pedal-pallet Q is represented as a perforated sliding pallet, which I prefer on account of its greater simplicity, and because it produces less friction during operation. y

I do not claim broadly an electric organ-action, as I am aware that the same is not new.

T. claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters `Patent- 1. The application of a separate battery to each separate octave o i an organ, substantially as described for the purpose specified.

2. Covering the mercury in the cups B andK, or in either,l with glycerine, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

3. The wire S and the sliding wedge T, Grits equivalent, when arranged substantially as described, for the purpose of connecting the mercury-cups of key and pedal, to allow the pallets of both to be worked by the pedal alone, as specified.

4. The pallet C, constructed as described, in combination with tliearmature 11as hereinset folth for the purpose specified.

5. The sliding pallet Q, when arranged and operatpurpose herein shown and described.

HILBORNE L. ROOSEVELT. -Witnesses:

A. V. BmEsnN,

FRANK BLQCKLEY. 

